The former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has revealed he had cancer and has since recovered.
The Conservative MP said he would be taking part in a 5km race to raise money for cancer charities after the disease affected some of his relatives “very dramatically” and he experienced a “minor" one” himself.
Hunt, now chair of the health and social care select committee, said: “Every member of my family has had cancer. I have had a minor one myself which has fortunately been resolved.
“So it’s touched my family very dramatically and I know it has touched many many families. My work on the select committee has shown me there are lot of things we can do to improve our cancer survival rates.
“They are getting better but the more we can do to raise money and raise awareness, the more lives we’ll save.”
Hunt, 55, will be running with cancer survivor Rod Pluthero, 73, and fellow Tory MP Angela Richardson, 47.
Richardson, who represents the Guildford constituency, said: “There will be few of us who have been untouched by cancer – with one in two people now developing it at some stage of our lives, research into successful treatments and prevention of the disease is an overwhelming health priority.
“Jeremy has been an advocate and champion of cancer research, advanced treatments and better patient experiences for many years.
“It’s my pleasure to be able to join him at the Race for Life and for us to be taking forward this campaign together to allow the best possible outcomes for cancer patients in the future.”
Half of people in the UK born after 1960 will get cancer in their lifetime, according to Cancer Research UK.
Race for Life, in partnership with Tesco, is a nationwide series of 3km, 5km and 10km races, along with children’s events, which raise millions of pounds every year.
